What the publicly funded Panorama requisition is for
Panorama is a non-invasive prenatal test that screens placental DNA in the pregnant person’s blood for trisomies 21, 18 and 13, with optional fetal sex and sex chromosome aneuploidy. Prenatal Screening Ontario sets the criteria for OHIP funding, and publicly funded NIPT is offered through LifeLabs and Dynacare. This requisition is LifeLabs’ publicly funded version, and it must include the PSO eligibility checklist. Patients who don’t qualify use LifeLabs’ private-pay Panorama requisition.
Who completes it
The ordering provider completes the requisition and the Category I checklist and signs both, confirming the patient was informed and consented. A Genetics or Maternal Fetal Medicine specialist completes Category II when the indication is an ultrasound finding or a sex chromosome question. The patient signs the patient consent section after reading the consent information on the last page. The collector records the blood draw.
How to fill in the requisition
Ordering provider, copy-to and patient information
Enter your billing number, name, address, telephone and fax, and any copy-to provider or genetic counsellor. For the patient, give names, date of birth, health card, address, telephone and email. The checklist says the ordering provider on page 1 must match the provider information and signature on page 2.
Test requested and options
Panorama is listed at no cost to the patient. Check fetal sex and sex chromosome aneuploidies only if the patient wants them. Sex chromosome screening is limited to singletons and identical twins.
Required clinical information
Enter the due date, which must be at least 9 weeks’ gestation, and the pregnant person’s weight. Answer the twin, vanishing twin and IVF questions. Panorama doesn’t accept twins conceived with a surrogate or egg donor, or higher order multiples, and a vanishing twin means testing isn’t possible. For IVF, record whether the egg is self or donor and the egg age at retrieval.
PSO eligibility checklist
Check every Category I criterion that applies and sign with your billing number. Category II is for a specialist only. A patient must have a valid OHIP card and meet at least one criterion. An NT of 3.5 mm or more needs a prompt referral to Genetics or MFM regardless of the NIPT.
Consent
Sign the provider confirmation of consent. The patient prints their name, signs and dates the patient consent section.
Common reasons it’s delayed
- PSO eligibility checklist missing or unsigned.
- Ordering provider on page 1 doesn’t match page 2.
- Due date or weight blank, or gestation under 9 weeks.
- Twin or IVF questions unanswered.
- Category II completed by a provider who isn’t a Genetics or MFM specialist.
- Patient consent unsigned.
Submitting and who pays
The patient takes the requisition to LifeLabs for the blood draw, and LifeLabs Genetics in Toronto does the testing. Results go to the ordering provider 7 to 10 days after the sample reaches the lab. The test is publicly funded for eligible patients, so there’s no cost to them, and a repeat draw after an inconclusive result is free.